


Day Two Hundred Eighteen || Kindness

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [218]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bullying, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 05:48:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20148667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: Kindness, Sasuke learned when young, is for suckers. Doesn't matter if he helps someone or not...in the end, it won't make a difference.





	Day Two Hundred Eighteen || Kindness

People are so quick to undervalue kindness. They see it as weakness, a useless act that just costs you in the end.

For a while...he was one of them. To be soft was to have vulnerabilities. People only respect you when you are strong. When you let nothing get to you. When you keep your face a blank mask and your heart a hard stone.

He’d been weak when he was young. Then he and his brother lost their parents...and Sasuke learned just how cruel the world could be. How cruel _people_ could be. A huge portion of his life was...gone.

And for that...he was bullied. Teased. Terrorized. Empathy was nowhere to be found in those his age. Instead, they sensed weakness...and took advantage.

It was then Sasuke swore...never again would be be soft. Never again would he expose open wounds. From then on, despite his tender age, Sasuke became cold. Aloof. Closed off from everyone around him. Even his older brother - his hero, his savior, his last link to family so close - had trouble prying him open and seeing what lay hidden within.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Itachi...but he still shied from his aunt and cousin. If he was to avoid any and all pain - any chance of being needled - he had to maintain his new facade at all costs. To all people.

He fell into cliche after cliche. Dark clothes. Loud music. Isolated, singular hobbies. His dark, edgy persona still gave him a kind of allure, and he had to warn off girl after girl that insisted they would be the _light to his shadow_. Convinced they were somehow a cure for all of his problems.

Tch...shallow brats that failed to grasp his reasoning...thus, he would never relent to them. If anything...they only served to push him further away.

There was only one person he regularly tolerated...and after a while, he wasn’t even sure the reasons why anymore. Naruto was loud, obnoxious, forward, and prying. He was always trying to drag the Uchiha out and get him into all kinds of hijinks and shenanigans. Most of the time, Sasuke just found him annoying.

...but maybe a small part of him appreciated the distraction. Someone who didn’t give up.

Like he already had.

By the time high school rolls around, he’s as embroiled in his persona as ever. It gets him his fair share of mockery, especially from older students. “Edgelord” he’s called. “Emo”. “Wannabe”. As if his trauma is no longer valid after so long. As if it’s _him_ using the deaths of his parents as a weapon...and not everyone else.

Whatever…

He doesn’t particularly care about school. He does fine in his classes, hardly giving effort but still managing good grades. It drives Naruto up the wall. Part of him can’t help but be amused.

Odds are, he could have gone through their entire high school career without incident. Their school is big enough, they could have gone four years without crossing paths.

But fate has other ideas.

“Hey!”

Eyes drawn to the shout, Sasuke glances over in the hallway after the final class of the day gives out. On the floor is a rather tiny looking freshman he doesn’t know, a binder beside her having vomited papers as it fell. And in front of her is another girl, who stands toe to toe with an upperclassman nearly twice her size. She’s short, figure hard to determine in her baggy clothes. But there’s a stubborn set to her jaw as she looks up at what he assumes is the aggressor.

Well, this ought to be interesting.

“What?”

“You did that on p-purpose!”

There’s a snicker at her stutter. “And what if I did?”

“Apologize!”

“Yeah, right. I got better things to do with my time, shorty. Outta the way, or you’ll be the next one on the floor.”

“That attitude might make you feel powerful, but in the end it will o-only dead-end you. Bullies always end up sad, alone, and regretful.”

He gives a scoff, temper clearly burning away his aloof humor. “You sure got a mouth on you for a tiny little freshie. Clearly you dunno how things _work_ in high school. You small fries stay of my way, and I don’t have to kick your ass. Your friend didn’t heed that too well, and now she’s on the floor. And if you don’t listen, then -”

“Then what?”

Two pairs of eyes both look over, spotting a hip-cocked Sasuke, hands in his pockets. The bully gives him a once-over, and snorts. “What, you her bodyguard, asshole? Finally crawl out of Hot Topic long enough to come to school?”

“Long enough to kick your ass if you don’t leave her alone.” Sasuke gives a smirk. “Bet I won’t even chip my nail polish,” he drawls, tone dripping with sarcasm.

“You’ve gone from cheeky to plain stupid, pal.”

“I’m not your pal. And you’re not nearly as tough as you think you are. If you really get off on picking on freshmen girls and name-calling, you need to find some new hobbies.”

The upperclassman’s jaw grits. “Don’t make me beat that grin off your face.”

“Go ahead, resort to violence. Just means I get the clear to defend myself. And given I’ve got eight years of self defense training...I’m willing to bet I can have you pinned in thirty seconds flat. Or...you could shuffle your neanderthal ass down the hallway and move on with your life. Otherwise, I’ll gladly humiliate you in public if that’s what you’re into.”

Face blooming bright red with temper, he seems to weigh Sasuke’s words as if trying to decide if he’s bluffing or not. In the end, he spits on his jacket before barreling past him, a few others following close behind.

Sasuke just glares from the corner of his eyes. He needs to wash this thing, anyway.

Kneeling down, the plucky girl helps her companion gather up her papers. “I’m sorry...but at least he’s gone.”

“It’s fine…I’m used to it…”

“Well you shouldn’t have to be.”

Somber face clearly not conveying any faith in such an idea, she just hugs the binder to her chest before keeping on her way.

Left behind, the other girl watches her go, expression a mixture of disappointment and glum acceptance.

“You’ve got some nerve, demanding an apology out of someone like that.”

Pale eyes glance to him a bit coolly. “...no one should act that way. It was mean and uncalled for.”

“That’s just life,” Sasuke counters. “The big guys pick on the little guys. Questioning it usually just gets you bruised.”

“_You_ stood up to him, didn’t you?”

“Because he was about to mop the floor with you. _And_ because I wasn’t lying about being able to handle him. You, on the other hand, don’t look quite so capable...no offense.”

“...none taken.” She sighs. “...I just...I can’t understand an attitude like that. How can people be so...mean?”

“No idea. They just are. You either let it get to you, or you buck up and grow enough shell to ignore it.”

“There’s no third option?”

“What third option?”

“Standing up against it! I’m not about to let some jerks intimidate me into silence! No matter what anybody else does to me, or says to me...I’ll still choose kindness. I can’t let it get to me. And I’m not about to let it change me, either.”

That earns an amused snort. “Whatever you want to tell yourself.”

She looks to him openly. “...I remember you.”

“Huh?”

“You’re the one who...lost his parents. In elementary school. Sasuke…?”

Dark eyes blink in surprise. “...and?”

“...I just thought someone like you would value kindness, given what you...w-what you went through.”

“...I learned that kindness is for suckers and weaklings. I didn’t get sympathy back then. I got harassment and bullying. That’s when I learned that it’s easier to feel nothing than let people hurt you like that.”

“...if that was true...why did you step in?”

He doesn’t respond.

“If that was true, then you should have just left me to figure that out myself, right?” She loosely folds her arms, considering him. “...what you did was kind. You didn’t _have_ to help me. You chose to. Isn’t that a bit contradictory…?”

Sasuke scowls, brow furrowing. “...tch, whatever.”

A hint of a smile lifts her lips. “...well, either way...t-thank you. Hopefully he won’t mess with her again.”

“I wouldn’t count on it.”

“That’s why I said ‘hopefully’. It might not be likely...but I’ll still hope.”

_What a weird girl…_ “...I gotta get home.” He’s surprised Itachi hasn’t come looking for him yet to drive him. How long has he even been standing here? Ten minutes?

“...me too. Bye, Sasuke…”

“You’re not gonna tell me your name?”

“...you care?”

“Might as well.”

A moment to consider him. “...Hinata.”

“Right...well, try not to stick your nose into any more trouble, Hinata.”

She just smiles. “I can’t make any promises...but maybe you’ll lend me a hand again, right?”

“Don’t count on something you don’t know.”

Hands fold behind her back, still smiling. “...call it a gut feeling.” With that, she gives a nod before making her way down the now-empty hallway.

...weird. Him, kind? Yeah right...it was just a random inclination. Doesn’t mean anything. He’s not about to go soft. Especially for some girl he hardly knows.

...still...she remembered who he was. Wasn’t snide about it. That was...interesting.

Mulling it over a moment longer, he then just shrugs, heading toward his locker. Well, it’s not going to happen again. No sense wasting time thinking about it.

It’s not like he’ll see her again.

**Author's Note:**

> It's late OTL
> 
> Not sure I like this too much, but...it's done. Wanted to do more, but today was long and busy so my writing window was pushed late / cut short, blegh. 
> 
> Sasuke tries to be a tough guy. Hinata refuses to let the world make her hard. Maybe Sasuke's not as rigid as he seems...
> 
> Anyway...that's all out of me for tonight. Thanks for reading~


End file.
